Method of repairing vault-light pavements.



No. 893,900 PATENTED JULY 2'1, 1908. P. M. BRUN-BR'.

METHOD OF REPAIRING VAULT LIGHT PAVEMENTS,

APPLICATION FILED 0GT.19, 1907.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

R/Z B PATENTED JULY 21, 1908.

P; M. BRUNER.

METHOD OF REPAIRING VAULT LIGHT PAVEMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED 00119, 1907.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

M... i m

PATENTED JULY 21, '1909.

P. M. 9901999. v I METHOD OF REPAIRING VAULT LIGHT PAVEMENTS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 19, 1907.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

:0 we m mm 1 Z PATENTED JULY 21, 1908.

P. M. BRUNBR-. METHOD OF REPAIRING VAULT LIGHT PAVEMENTS.

APPLI'OATION FILED 00119, 1907.

' 4SHEETS-SHEBT 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PRESTON M. BRUNER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

METHOD OF REPAIRING VAULT-LIGHT PAVEMENTS.-

I\To. 893,900.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PRESTON M. BRUNER, a citizen of the United States of America, residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Repairing Vault-Light Pavements, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specifica tion.

Illuminating pavements for spanning over areas embodying combined concrete and glass surfaces have heretofore been largely made of reinforced concrete having the glass lenses embedded in the reinforced concrete. In this system the glass lenses are surrounded on their sides with a hardening composition which helps to hold the glass in place and which with the lenses forms the wearing surface. The lenses being of a brittle material, frequently become broken by abuse or from other causes, and thus become unsafe and unsightly. The broken lenses must therefore be removed and be replaced by new ones. In such reinforced concrete construction, it has heretofore been necessary in making repairs to cut away the concrete for some distance around each lens so that the new one of corresponding pattern can be set in its place. The cutting out of the concrete is tedious and costly in labor and moreover is apt to injure the construction members. Moreover the amount of concrete that must be cut out to permit of the introduction of the new lens is so great as to produce an opening much larger than the glass and this space must be filled with fresh concrete that always shows up very plainly and gives the repaired portion a patched-up appearance. Prisms are often added to the bottom of lenses for reflection Figure I is a perspective view of one of the lenses used in my vault light pavement in the original construction of the pavement. Fig. II is a vertical section taken Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 19, 1907.

Patented July 21, 1908.

Serial No. 398,499.

through a portion of a vault light pavement containing two lenses of the kind shown in Fig. I, one of said lenses being illustrated in cross section and the other in elevation- Fig. III is an elevation of a modified form of lens having characteristics similar to the lenses shown in Figs. I and II. Fig. IV is an elevation of another modified form of lens characteristically simi lar to those shown in Figs. I and II. Fig. V is a section taken through a fragment of a vault pavement with one of my repair lenses similar in shape to the lenses shown in Figs. I and II, but lacking the seating flange of said lenses shown in the pavement. Fig. VI is a view similar to Fig. V showing a repair lens in position in the pavement and corresponding 'to the lens shown in Fig. III with the exception of the seating flange. Fig. VII is a view similar to Fig. V showing a repair lens in position in the pavement and corresponding to the lens shown in Fig. IV. Figs. VIII and IX are sections through fragments of a pavement with old types of lenses therein illustrating the amount of cement that must be removed to provide for. the removal of an old lens and the introduction of a new lens to take its place in the pavement after which the space around the lens must be filled with fresh cement. Fig. X is a view similar to Fig. IX illustrating a lensmade in accordance with my improvement and adapted to be substituted for the lens shown in Fig. IX after said last'named lens has been removed. Fig. XI is an elevation of a type of lens provided with a prism at its bottom. Fig. XII is a section through a portion of the pavement containing lenses similar to that illustrated in Fig. VIII supported by a bar-grating instead of mounted in reinforced concrete. Fig. XIII is a section through a pavement containing pressed and perforated supports and containing another type of lens.

Referring first to Figs. I and II in the accompanying drawings: 1 designates a lens made in accordance with my improvement and which may, if desired, be utilized in an original construction of a vault light pave-.

It will be notedIthat inasmuch as the walls of the lens slope of converge downwardly they will rest against slanting faces of the cement when they are laid therein, in the production of a pavement and after the pavement is constructed these slanting surfaces at the sides of the opening in Which the lens is present, will always remain in the pavement. In lieu of producing the lens as shown in Figs. I and II, said lens may be produced in the form illustrated in Fig. III in which the lens 1 has downwardly converging walls 2 and receding flanges 3 similar to the lens be: fore described. The lens shown in Fig. III however, differs from the previously described lens in that the walls of the lens are serrated at 1 in order that the lens may obtain a more perfect purchase upon the cement surrounding it in the pavement to be sustained therein. The lens shown in Fig. IV may also be used in lieu of the lens shown in Figs. I and II. The lens illustrated in Fig. IV differs from the lens shown in Figs. I and II in that the walls of the lens which is designated by 1 are provided with steps 1 of gradual diminishing dimensions and which serve to render the lens one having downwardly converged walls. The lens 1 is provided with a seating flange 3 Either of the lenses of which description has been given may be readily dislodged from the openings in a avement in the event of their becoming unit for further service, and I then, for the purpose of making re pairs, substitute new lenses for those removed and make use of the lenses illustrated in Figs. V to VII inclusive. The lens A shown in Fig. V corresponds approximately to the lens shown in Figs. I and II. The lens B in Fig. VI corresponds approximately to the lens shown in Fig. III and the lens C shown in Fig. VII corresponds approximately to the lens shown in Fig. IV, with the exception that each of these lenses A, B and C lack the seating flanges of the first described lenses. All of the lenses A, B and O however, have downwardly converging walls and they are therefore so shaped that they may be readily seated in the openings previously occupied by the corresponding but flanged lenses. The lenses A, B and C preferably differ how ever, from the corresponding flanged lenses by being slightly smaller in dimensions in order to compensate for any wear of concrete and to provide for a thin coating of cement around the lenses when they are introduced into the openings that have been occupied by the original lenses.

The four systems of construction of vault light pavements hitherto chiefly em loyed contemplate the use of three types of Ienses, each type being res onsive to the requirements of the particu ar system of construction. I will first refer to the type indicated by the letter D and shown in Fig. VIII. This lens has a glass area on top equal to the effective area of the clear opening into the vault space below, and the small flange at the bottom of the lens provides secure support to the construction members through its embedment in a groove of the rib E. This type of lens is also used in connection with the bar grating system illustrated in Fig. XII. The

type of lens F shown in Fig. IX has straight sides and the lens is not supported by construction members but by the depth of the surrounding concrete this lens has therefore horizontal beads at its sides which afford a secure hold for the lens in the embedding material. The area of the top of the lens is in this lens also equal to the e'flicient area of clear opening into the vault below. In both the types of lenses D and F the lenses are held by means of projections beyond the efficient area of openings into the vault space. In the type of lens G shown in Fig. XIII there is no rojection but the body of the lens is made arge enough to reach over to the bearing members. Only the recession at the bottom of this lens represents the efficient area of the clear opening into the vault space and while this lens appears to embody the step-off construction in my lens it will be noticed that its step-off is not within the limits of the concrete construction. and is provided merely to create a solid projection below the concrete which may be engaged in the opening provided for it in the metal bearing members. The step-off recession in the lens just mentioned and which projects below'the concrete corresponds to' the prismatic projection of the lens H shown in Fig. XI and which also is independent of any system of construction or of the type of lens used.

All of the lenses to which I have just directed attention and the constructions of pavement with which they are utilized demand that the concrete be cut out on lines X, see Fi s. VIII to XIII inclusive in order that newinses may be introduced into the pavement to replace the ones previously in service and which have become impaired. It is the aim of my invention to obviate this cutting out which involves tedious and ex pensive labor and frequently involves injury to the pavement as before explained. I therefore make my lenses with convergent walls or sides as illustrated and described, in order that they may be utilized to replace the various types of lenses of which mention has been made for the entire depths of the previously used lenses or at least the greater art of such depths. In repairs with such enses the sloping sides of the hardened comosition around the pocket into which the enses are to be introduced form sufficient support and rigid setting for the lenses. I

may therefore trim the original lenses free of any projections they may have, such as beads or flanges, and insert the new trimmed lenses to take the place of the cracked or broken ones, or I make special re air lenses of the same type as those previous y present in the pavement and with the projections omitted and preferably a very little smaller than the original lenses to compensate for any wear of the top surface of the pavements and topermit also for the application of a film of suitable setting composition around each lens to adhere to the body of pavement in which the lenses are inserted. f

I claim:

1. The method of repairing anilluminating pavement in which lenses are embedded in a concrete body, said method consisting in introducing into the opening previously ocg. cupied by a lens in the concrete body, which opening has been made to flare upwardly, a lens downwardly converging from the top to the bottom and of such shape as to approximately fill the upper end of said opening, and

'= filling the space between said lens and the.

wall of said openin with a film of suitable cement, substantially as set forth.

2. The method of repairing an illuminating pavement in which lenses are embedded in a concrete body, said method consisting in introducing into the opening previously occupied by a lens in the concrete body, which opening has been made to flare upwardly, a lens downwardly converging from the top to the bottom and free of side projections and filling the space between said lens and the wall of said openin with a film of suitable cement, substantially as set forth.

3. The method of repairing an illuminating pavement in which lenses are embedded in a concrete body, said method consisting in sha ing the openings occupied by the origi nal enses to render them of downwardly converging shape and then introducing into said openings repair lenses of downwardly converging shape from the top to the bottom and filling the spacesbetween said lenses and the walls of said openin s with a film of suitable cement, substantially as set forth.

4. The method of repairing an illuminating pavement in which lenses are embedded in a concrete body, said method consisting in sha ing the openings occupied by the original enses to render them of downwardly converging shape and then introducing into said openings repair lenses of downwardly converging shape from the top to the bottom and of designs approximating the designs of the original lenses and filling the spaces between said lenses and the walls of said openings with a film of suitable cement, substantially as set forth. v

5. The method of repairing an illuminating pavement in which lenses are embedded in a concrete body, said method consisting in sha ing the openings occu ied by the original lenses to render them 0 downwardly converging shape and then introducing into said openings repair lenses of downwardly converging shape from the top to the bottom and filling in the sp aces between said lenses and the walls of said openings with a semi-fluid hardening composition, substantially 'as set forth.

PRESTON M. BRUNER. In presence of BLANCHE IIOGAN, LILY PosT. 

